Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Cultural Chasm

Like other stereotypical liberals, we would prefer to think and feel that reason and compassion will rule. The left and right can work on common grounds. That is the curse of the meliorist – onward and upward!

We are coming to believe that they will marginalize themselves and be left to wonder why the rest of the world will not accept their truths. That would be a bitter life to live, indeed.

Regularly coming into contact with and reading the words from various extremists, such as MassResistance and Article 8, we can find decreasing chances for dialog, much less rational discourse. For example, it is truly astonishing to hear or read that after they call homosexuality am abomination and extrapolate that into public policy in efforts to strip existing marital and anti-discrimination rights, they proclaim that calling them hateful and homophobic is unfair and cruel.

By their words and deeds shall you know them.

They seem obliviouss to the hypocrisyy of damning gays while sidestepping other abominations, according to the KJV of the Bible. There is false witness, adultery, and perhaps most damnable of all, failing to help the needy. The fundies somehow don't shun those sinners. Yet those sins have direct and indirect negative affect on others.

Likewise, the individuals and groups who want to control even a mention of the existence of same-sex couples in public school show little interest in palpable reality. We are coming to think that in their desire to control even concepts that their children may contact shows their irrationality.

Can there be any middle ground or even leeway with those deny and fear ideas and facts? Uncertainty and ambiguity are apparently intolerable for many of them.

It's back to the psychology books and such clear articles as the current UU Worldone on fundy thinking. Perhaps another long bike ride with moving meditation will catalyze some hope for rapprochement and constructive action with the haters who don't want to be called haters but won't alter their behavior.

Probably not though. We can likely be sure that very few or none of them will be doing the same.